Volume One, Chapter 12: No Revenge Without Becoming a Renowned Master

Three days ago, a secret informant within the Ye family reported that you had appeared in the Miao territory. Your grandfather personally traveled there to find you, but it turned out to be a trap set by the Four Great Families. They had long since paid a hefty sum to hire the poison masters of the Miao’s Poison Den sect to assist in ambushing him.

In this battle, your grandfather slew all ten of the Four Great Families’ four-star generals and also killed three poison masters from the Poison Den sect. Yet, your grandfather’s life was nearing its end. Upon returning to the Ye family, he passed away.

Chen Fan clenched his fists tightly. Old scores unsettled, now piled with fresh blood debts.

The Four Great Families deserve death, and the Poison Den sect—he must annihilate them.

“Why is your grandfather’s body displayed in the ancestral hall instead of being buried to rest in peace?”

“It was your grandfather’s dying wish. He ordered that no funeral be held and that his death be kept secret. Only in this way could the Four Great Families be deterred from acting recklessly.”

His wife had passed, yet even the funeral rites could not be properly conducted. The most distressed was the old matriarch.

She wished to give her husband a grand burial, but it was impossible.

For ten years, the great families had suppressed them openly and covertly but dared not go too far, all because of fear toward the old patriarch.

The old patriarch was a five-star general.

If the Ye family lost this pillar, ruin would come in an instant.

“I will go now and destroy the Four Great Families to avenge Grandfather!”

“No, you must not go!”

“Grandma, with my strength, wiping out the Four Great Families is more than enough. You need not worry about me.”

“I said no!”

The matriarch’s voice was stern: “Now, kneel before your grandfather.”

Chen Fan was puzzled but obeyed, dropping to his knees with a thud.

“Before your grandfather, I want you to promise me that you will marry Qingcheng and join the Ye family.”

“Agreed!”

Without hesitation, Chen Fan consented.

The Ye family had sacrificed so much for the Chen family; it was not a big deal for him to marry into the Ye family.

“From now on, you must not seek revenge!”

No revenge?

Chen Fan suddenly looked up, confused and incredulous.

The matriarch actually forbade him from avenging.

How could he not avenge a family massacre?

“I won’t agree. Revenge, I must have it!”

“Do you know who your enemies really are? The Four Great Families are mere pawns, insignificant. The true mastermind behind this is a far more powerful force you cannot imagine.”

“I know the Chen family’s massacre may be linked to the Four Great Families.”

“No. The real enemy is even more terrifying than the Four Great Families!” The old matriarch spoke earnestly. “Your grandfather’s greatest wish was for you to live well and carry on the Chen family line. Even if your parents are still alive, he never wanted you to die in vain. Do you understand?”

“This blood feud, I must settle, or I am no son.”

Seeing Chen Fan so resolute, the matriarch stepped back: “You may seek revenge, but only after you become a renowned master. Then you can go without me stopping you. Otherwise, today I will die before your eyes and join your grandfather.”

What is a renowned master?

An old saying goes: the wise become teachers.

In China, the nation is built on martial arts, which is the great path.

Beneath this great path lie lesser paths — medicine, poisons, mechanisms, mystic arts… all considered minor paths.

To become a renowned master, one must reach above five stars in any path.

Each path has its own affiliated factions and examinations.

It seems easy, but truly becoming a renowned master is rare.

Most martial artists never reach five-star general level in their lifetime.

Only the gifted might.

But they often lack the energy to study other paths.

Because of this difficulty, the matriarch proposed this condition to restrain Chen Fan.

“Grandma, I promise, I will not seek revenge unless I become a renowned master!”

Faced with her ultimatum, Chen Fan had no choice but to agree.

To others, becoming a renowned master was as hard as reaching the heavens, but to Chen Fan, it was merely a matter of taking some time for the exams.

After all, he was the disciple of those seven old masters.

The matriarch breathed a sigh of relief.

She was old, not long for this world. Her husband was gone, and at death’s door, her greatest worry was Chen Fan’s safety.

Now that he had returned, she did not want him to die needlessly.

She did not want to see the old white-haired lose the young black-haired.

How could she face her husband in the afterlife?

How could she explain to Chen Fan’s family?

She wanted revenge too.

But the enemy was too strong.

So strong, even she felt powerless.

Her greatest wish now was to see Chen Fan marry and have children, to carry on the Chen bloodline.

“Grandma, I accept your condition, but I hope you can accept one of mine.”

“Speak.”

“I want to hold a funeral for Grandfather. I want him to rest in peace.”

Chen Fan’s voice was low.

When a person dies, they should be laid to rest.

The old man had worked hard all his life; he deserved peace in death.

“Well…”

The matriarch was about to refuse when Chen Fan spoke again: “Grandma, I know what you worry about. Though Grandfather is gone, I am still here. You have seen my strength…”

“Xiaofan, tell me, what level have you reached now?”

“Even if it’s you, Grandma, coming here would be a death sentence.”

Chen Fan did not truly know his own strength.

But not even his seven masters could defeat him.

The matriarch was stunned. Indeed, she had three-star general power but could not withstand even one move from Chen Fan.

This was at least four-star, possibly five-star strength.

With this thought, the matriarch agreed to Chen Fan’s request.

When leaving, Chen Fan knelt and kowtowed three times, murmuring, “Grandfather, rest in peace. I will not let the Ye family fall. I will restore it to its peak and make the Ye family the greatest in Jin City.”

For this promise, the Ye family had sacrificed so much.

How could Chen Fan not feel guilty?

Restoring the Ye family’s former glory and taking it higher was his compensation.

It was the only thing he could do now.

After leaving the ancestral hall, the matriarch gathered the Ye family descendants.

She announced the old patriarch’s death.

The younger generation of the Ye family was shocked.

The elders were stunned as well.

They wondered why the secret of the patriarch’s death was now being revealed.

Why hold a grand funeral after all?

Yet Ye Qianshan and others voiced no objection.

Though the consequences were uncertain, the Ye family had suffered too long in silence.

They would rather die standing than live in shame.

While the Ye family prepared the funeral, news spread like wildfire.

A hero of an era had fallen.

Jin City exploded with turmoil.

Winds rose and clouds gathered.

The skies over Jin City were about to change.

Everyone speculated whether the once prosperous Ye family, with the old patriarch gone, would suffer the same fate as the Chen family and be wiped out.

After all, the Four Great Families had long suppressed the Ye family in secret.

Without the old patriarch’s support, the Four Great Families would act without restraint.

Perhaps tomorrow, Jin City would see the Ye family no more.